Meanwhile, in the quiet, uncharted depths of space, Nefarious' space station floats on.

The villainous doctor hunches over his desk, getting lost in the tapping of keys as he modifies his project files. Every few seconds, his attention moves just for a moment as he shuffles through a stack of physical paper notes. His pen scratches at the documents, feverishly adding his thoughts or scribbling in the corners.

It isn't until there's a knock at the door that he remembers what time it is. Right on cue, Saros enters with a blunt "You wanted to see me, Doc?"

The villain shoves his stack of papers to the side, stepping forward to his full height to greet the markazian. "Ah, just in time for your next assignment. You and I will be heading to one of my outposts today. When we arrive, expect an encounter with Nova and Clank."

"With you? That's new, but alright then," he shrugs, moving out of his employer's way as the robot steps to the screen. "Where's the out-" Saros freezes, and Quantos' image is reflected over wide eyes. "Why?"

Nefarious remains unphased. "I'm not in the habit of letting my minions question my strategic decisions."

"It's cruel, and unnecessary!" the young man argues, an arm thrown out towards the screen. "Quantos is her home. You've already taken that; destroyed her village, what's left to even do there?!"

The doctor lets out a disappointed hum, unphased by the markazian's points. "So you're going soft on me, squishy? Don't you want to save her from the past?"

"I do, but…" he sighs, drooping his shoulders at the thought. "Not like this. Look, just let me bring her here, so you can do whatever you need to do and let it be done. No more mind games, no more tests. She's suffered enough because of you." Saros shudders, imagining the ways that would have to happen. She's proven to be stubborn, so the young man doubts he'd be able to willingly convince her. Would he have to take her by force? By surprise? Either option isn't exactly appealing.

As soon as Nefarious opens his mouth to respond, one of his troopers enters the room. "Sir, you're needed in the lab; your tests are-"

"I thought I TOLD YOU FOOLS TO KNOCK!"

Saros watches in horror as the doctor lifts his claw with an intimidating roar, throwing a burst of some dark energy at the trooper. They fall to the ground, dead in an instant.

"Can't a villain have any PRIVACY around here?!" The organic doesn't dare to breathe for a moment, lest his new employer decide to send such rage his way as well. Just as quickly, Nefarious takes a moment to focus on the task at hand. It's hardly the time to glitch here, after all. "Very well, I suppose I should check on those results. Lawrence! And you too, squishy! Both of you, come with me."

With a hum, the office door opens once more, and Nefarious leads Lawrence out of the room. The markazian hesitates, his gaze drifting away from the metal corpse being carried away by another trooper. He locks eyes with the stack of papers Nefarious was reading.

There's this tight feeling in his gut that tells him to reach for it.

That kind of intel could end this, once and for all. Then again, stealing that paperwork or reading it would risk him the same fate as the smoldering robot carcass in the doorway. The decision weighs on his mind like a starship parked on his chest as Quantos' soft light shines from the screen, giving the smoke from the blast a foreboding and sickly green aura. As the dark fog dissolves a bit, the screen's glow almost seems to reflect onto the stack of documents, like the shimmer of a quest item in some hologame. He sucks in a breath.

"Screw it." Saros snatches up the papers, pulling out his phone to send a text and record a message.

…

The lab doors open, revealing the stained knife in its airtight container. Multiple project files blink on screen, cross referencing older research in an attempt to find a match. The computer had been scanning for hours now, and it seems the research is nearing completion. Nefarious taps on the container's glass, huffing at the object inside as he recalls his previous experiments.

The first time he tried to scan it, the program he used was entirely corrupted with some powerful static pulse. It took a complete reboot of the system to restore things, and several files were beyond repair. A curious effect for sure, and one he certainly added to his personal handwritten notes afterwards.

This second scan has certainly gone much farther, shown by a progress bar that fills its last bit of color; 97%, 98%, 99%, and finally, 100%. A short ding sounds from the speakers, and a green notification pops up.

Match Found

"Finally." Opening the file, Nefarious reads it as he continues to tap the glass. The clinks slow to a stop, and a devilish grin spreads on his face. "I see…In that case-Lawrence!" Sending a copy of the files to the butler, he shoves all the unneeded data to the side. "Take these blueprints and replicate this; put it in the room next door, that should be plenty of space."

"Very good sir. In the meantime, however, I should inform you that Saros is no longer with us."

…

Nova's phone suddenly dings; a notification lights up the screen. "Huh? What could that be?" The message attached puts her at unease:

Message from - Saros Mendrano

"you should see this"

Ratchet's light materializes into his form, watching his protégé with concern. "What's up, kid?"

"Says it's from Saros," she says, pointing her phone screen towards him and Clank. "But why would he send something now?"

"It may be some sort of trap," Clank suggests. "He is still working for Nefarious, after all."

The phone begins to ring now, for an incoming video call. As much as Nova wants to agree with her companion, her gut says otherwise. "No, this is different. I can feel it, something's wrong." Her face hardens, suspicion in her eyes as she accepts the call.

Saros' video fills the screen. Nova lowers herself to Clank's height and Ratchet scoots in close for all three of them to watch. It opens to a slightly shaky view; from this position she can't tell much of where it is, but from the papers in the corner she assumes this is Nefarious' personal office.

Saros speaks, low and rushed. "Nova, I hope you're seeing this. Nefarious, his plans are bigger than just you." His hand comes into frame, quickly shuffling papers and revealing the doctor's work. In bold print, at the center of the first page, lies the title:

Project: New Game Plus

It's difficult to see the details underneath, considering the lighting and the camera's shaking, but the young man does his best to share his findings in a hushed whisper. "It's a script, your name's in here. Some notes too; something about 'recreating the past'. No time to read, but-" Saros freezes, letting out a short gasp as he listens for something too far away to be recorded. "Crap, he's coming."

Nova holds her breath as the call goes on, and his phone's mic picks up shuffling as the device is stuck in his pocket. The scene continues, but the heroes see none of it.

"HEY! Who gave you permission to GO THROUGH MY OFFICE?!" Nefarious sounds absolutely furious, his stomping footsteps getting louder as he enters the room.

There's the crinkling of papers, presumably Saros stacking them back in place in an attempt to cover his tracks. "Oh! Uh, sorry Doc! Thought there'd be some kinda instructions for the Quantos raid in here. Sorry, I'm comin'. You needed to see some sort of tests, right? From the sample I-" The markazian's voice is cut off, replaced by a slam and a groan of pain.

"No!"

Nefarious stops, having noticed a woman's voice in the room. Shaking the dark energy he shot Saros with off of his claws, the tapping of his feet grows louder as he gets closer to the phone. "So, we have an audience now? You really are a moron! But sure, let her hear. I want Ratchet's pathetic little copy to know there's nothing she can do to stop this."

…

"You know," Nefarious taunts, "There's older drafts of the script you saw. Let me tell you a secret, squishy; you were always a pawn. I had Lawrence watch you from afar. He saw you with her on your silly little date, and I thought I could turn new lovers against each other." The doctor sneers at him with a wicked glee on his face. "But you couldn't even manage that part, could you?"

The comment brings his anger to the surface once more, steadying his voice as he tries to lift himself off the ground. "Dating Nova or not isn't the point! Especially not now!"

Before Saros continues, Nefarious stops him. "You gave a great performance for me at Destructapalooza, I'll admit, but don't forget what brought you here." His tall, skeletal frame crouches down condescendingly, driving the point further. "The only skill in battle you have is from what that earring burned into your mind, from the previous footage you gathered and my older videos. But, you used it decently, kept her on her toes. You were a useful puppet for the EMP strike too, but now, I don't need you anymore." He looks away, in mocking thought before glaring back at the markazian below him. "At least, not alive."

"So you're just going to kill me, now that I know your plans?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." His claw reaches down, picking Saros' pocket to retrieve his phone. A claw taps the screen, zooming in on Nova and Clank watching the video. The fury in the young woman's eyes is absolutely delicious, and he savors every bit of it. "No spoilers."

Saros' phone is destroyed, leaving the rest to Nova's imagination.

…

Nefarious speaks once more after dropping the broken phone. "Want me to tell you a secret, Saros? Your little hero was right about everything." He leans in close enough for the organic's breath to fog his finish. "From the moment you took my card, you'd already lost."

Nefarious stands up and snaps his fingers, and the sound seems to echo through the station. Saros' earring hoop retracts into a stud and suddenly begins to burn, spreading what feels like liquid fire across his face. Saros' hands try to rip off the trinket, but to his horror, the earring is gone.

In fact, the skin of his ear has been entirely replaced by cold metal.

"You technically brought this on yourself, you know." The doctor continues his taunts as Saros begins to panic, trying in vain to tear off the metal that's quickly spreading further and further. "You took my business card. You chose to come here. She tried to warn you, but you clung to my lies instead like a desperate simp."

A harsh chill fills the organic's entire body, a piercing ring in his ears breaks his focus, and he falls to the floor. Nefarious leans down to him once more with a smirk. "Incredible, isn't it? It's a twist on my original Biobliterator project. I have to say, this one's a lot more interesting to watch."

The metal rises up his arms and legs, gliding over his torso until the last bit of living tissue is over his face. "Nova and Clank...they'll stop you. You won't get away with this."

"I already have."

Nefarious' knowing smile is the last thing Saros sees before his vision goes black.

The doctor watches as the last bits of metal cover the former markazian's face, and the young man goes completely still. His character breaks, and Nefarious' entire frame shakes with giddy laughter as he stomps, happily bouncing at the results. "Oh, I just love that line! Haven't had a good gloat like that in ages!" With a sigh, he absorbs the moment, eager to move on to the really juicy parts. "Now, to the bridge. Stand up, minion, before I annihilate you!"

The newly formed robot does so in silence.

"Good. Now here's what you're gonna do. You and I are going to be on the next transport to Quantos, and it'll be up to you to…" Claws clink, clink against the minion's shoulder as Nefarious takes in the moment. "Take care of the locals for me."

"Yes, Doctor."